When there is a 0% chance of rain or convective activity we update every 2 hours. When lightning is possible within our range, updates are once a minute.
-CG = Negative Cloud to Ground -IC = Negative Inter-cloud +CG = Positive Cloud to Ground +IC = Positive Inter-Cloud

El Dorado Weather uses a Boltek StormTraker Live Lightning Detection Radar Station. The station is based at El Dorado Weather at our Placerville, California USA location, and covers Northern & Central Sierra Nevada Mountains and Central and Northern California. We also keep Live and Archived Weather Data for Placerville, California.

Boltek StormTracker is the weather industry standard in lightning detection equipment. Boltek StormTracker detects lightning strikes up to 300 miles away in each direction, which covers a circle around the station with a 600 mile diameter. It plots and tracks lightning strikes directly to the Internet and then to you within one minute of a lightning strike.

What does it do?

Boltek StormTracker Detectors use state-of-the-art technology to make real-time lightning detection that allows you to not only tell if lightning is near but see exactly where it is at. It tracks the speed and direction of thunder storms, allowing you to plot the exact path of the storm and how fast it is traveling. Thus showing you where the tstorm will hit and when the storm will get there. The Boltek StormTracker hardware is being used in conjuction with Astrogenic Systems, NexStorm software.

How Does It Work?

StormTracker detects the low frequency radio signals produced by lightning's electrical discharge. This signal is the crackling you hear on an AM radio when thunderstorms are nearby. These signals travel for hundreds of miles and are detected by StormTracker's antenna.

StormTracker uses a direction-finding antenna to determine the direction the lightning signal came from. StormTracker's receiver looks at the signal strength to calculate an approximate distance for the lightning strike. There is additional processing done in software to reduce the effect of strike to strike magnitude variations. Once StormTracker knows the direction and distance of the strike it plots it on the map

Who Uses a Boltek StormTracker?

Some of the users that use Boltek are the US Air Force, Government Weather Forcasters, Government Computer Centers, US Air Navy, Emergency Management Agencies, Skywarn Spotters, Storm Chasers, and both Public & Private Weather Forcasters alike.